Liverpool deal for Kabak could be held up by Mustafi talks with Arsenal

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Liverpool’s hopes of signing Schalke defender Ozan Kabak may rest on Arsenal allowing Shkodran Mustafi to leave the club before the January transfer window closes. 

According to Sky Germany, the Bundesliga side would only be willing to let Kabak leave on the final day of the window if they could have a replacement in hand. 

Due to the time sensitive nature of the last-minute deal, it seems as though Schalke are limited in who they could bring in to replace the 20-year-old talent. 

The German broadcaster believes the Gelsenkirchen side have now turned their attention towards Arsenal defender Mustafi, who they believe could be a viable target for Schalke if a deal can be agreed to let him leave the Premier League side. 

The German international has been the subject of some speculation around Arsenal for a number of weeks, due to his contract expiring at the end of the season and his inability to break into Mikel Arteta’s team. 

Following reports that the defender had agreed to cancel his own contract to pursue game time at another club, Mustafi’s father quickly moved to deny any efforts from his son. 

“I read the rumours yesterday that Shkodran is set to terminate his contract. To clarify: there are currently no talks about a contract termination,” Kujtim Mustafi told Transfermarkt. 

“The fact is that Shkodran will leave the club in the summer at the latest.”

However, with interest from Schalke now apparently on the table, Mustafi may be tempted to make some form of compromise with Arsenal to allow him to move to the Bundesliga side for the remainder of the season. 

Schalke currently sit bottom of the Bundesliga table, with just eight points from 19 league matches. As such, new head coach Christian Gross has acted quickly to turn their poor form around by recruiting more experienced players in the January window. 

Should Mustafi join the club, he would be joined by former Arsenal teammate Sead Kolasinac as well as former Holland striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who have both joined the club this month.